In the series Norwegian Residential Environments, ThorNews presents the apartment ‘The Cleaning Lady’s Home – 1950’.

The Norwegian Folk Museum describes the apartment as follows:

‘The Cleaning Lady’s Home – 1950’ is the reconstruction of an authentic home from the mid-20th Century, the home of the cleaning lady Gunda Eriksen, born 1887. Mrs. Eriksen didn’t actually live in Wessels gate 15, but in another part of town. But her home was just the same size as the flat in Wessels gate. All Gunda Eriksen’s belongings were collected to the museum in 1957, and her home was thoroughly photographed.

Gunda’s home had two rooms and a kitchen. One of the rooms was a living room in the day and a bed room at night. It was furnished with a divan, a table, a rocking chair and a chest of drawers. The other room was the dining room, only used for special occasions. These two traits, the rearranging of the room between day and night, and the seldom used best room, were both typical for the mid-century working class way of life.

Gunda’s combined living room and bedroom with plain and cheap furniture. Her divan is simply a bed of iron with a mattress and embroidered pillows. On the table the Bible she was given at Sunday school. The dining room furniture made of oak in late neo-renaissance was bought second hand at Gunda’s wedding in 1924.

Source: Norsk Folkemuseum

Photos: Digitalt museum

Categories: Culture, History